Words from the Knot House

Archive for the ‘Wednesday’s Weekly Challenge’ Category

Welcome back to the Wednesday Weekly Challenge. Each Wednesday we will be posting a tatting related challenge (usually in the form of a free tatting pattern link) and challenging you, the reader, to try it. When a pattern link is provided, we will also post a picture of how our tatting turned out when we followed the pattern. Following the challenge, we will feature reader completions of past challenges. So submit your completed work whether it be from challenge #1, 29, or the current challenge. All submissions will be posted in the next week’s challenge.

Challenge Issued: Follow the linked pattern in any color combinations and thread sizes you choose. [Variations of the pattern are welcome and encouraged.] Then snap a picture and send it to sbspokane@yahoo.com with the subject line “Weekly Challenge” (or post it in the comments) to see your completed work featured as part of next week’s challenge post. Be sure to include the name you wish us to list with your photo – we want to give you credit! [There is no time limit on sending in your picture – feel free to send in any weekly challenge pictures (from last week or weeks/months ago) and we will feature them as part of the next Wednesday’s post.]

Weekly Challenge #44 – Painted Lady Butterfly (No Beads)

This week’s pattern is by the talented Jane Eborall. It is her beautiful painted lady butterfly.

This pattern will give you some practice with split rings and I really like how the crocheted antennae look.

Welcome back to the Wednesday Weekly Challenge. Each Wednesday we will be posting a tatting related challenge (usually in the form of a free tatting pattern link) and challenging you, the reader, to try it. When a pattern link is provided, we will also post a picture of how our tatting turned out when we followed the pattern. Following the challenge, we will feature reader completions of past challenges. So submit your completed work whether it be from challenge #1, 29, or the current challenge. All submissions will be posted in the next week’s challenge.

Challenge Issued: Follow the linked pattern in any color combinations and thread sizes you choose. [Variations of the pattern are welcome and encouraged.] Then snap a picture and send it to sbspokane@yahoo.com with the subject line “Weekly Challenge” (or post it in the comments) to see your completed work featured as part of next week’s challenge post. Be sure to include the name you wish us to list with your photo – we want to give you credit! [There is no time limit on sending in your picture – feel free to send in any weekly challenge pictures (from last week or weeks/months ago) and we will feature them as part of the next Wednesday’s post.]

Weekly Challenge #43 – GR-8 Butterfly

Gary and Randy, known as the Shuttle Brothers, make some pretty amazing shuttles, several great books, and some fun free patterns available on their webpage. Check out their site!

Today’s pattern is a butterfly that only takes one shuttle. In addition to basic techniques, this butterfly will give you practice with both finger tatting and the self closing mock ring [SCMR]. Mary helped the guild work through this pattern at our meeting earlier this month.

Welcome back to the Wednesday Weekly Challenge. Each Wednesday we will be posting a tatting related challenge (usually in the form of a free tatting pattern link) and challenging you, the reader, to try it. When a pattern link is provide, we will also post a picture of how our tatting turned out when we followed the pattern. Following the challenge, we will feature reader completions of past challenges. So submit your completed work whether it be from challenge #1, 29, or the current challenge. All submissions will be posted in the next week’s challenge.

Challenge Issued: Follow the linked pattern in any color combinations and thread sizes you choose. [Variations of the pattern are welcome and encouraged.] Then snap a picture and send it to sbspokane@yahoo.com with the subject line “Weekly Challenge” (or post it in the comments) to see your completed work featured as part of next week’s challenge post. Be sure to include the name you wish us to list with your photo – we want to give you credit! [There is no time limit on sending in your picture – feel free to send in any weekly challenge pictures (from last week or weeks/months ago) and we will feature them as part of the next Wednesday’s post.]

Weekly Challenge #42 – Who & What Has Inspired You

I don’t have a new pattern for you this week. As you could probably guess by my absence, life has been a little busy (sewer pipe collapse, death of my cat, gaining two new kitties, job changes,… busy). During all this time, I have been tatting – just been working on things from published patterns or creating things I need to write down. As such, your challenge for today isn’t a new pattern.

You see, today I received an email from a friend that said I was a tatting inspiration and that got me thinking…

This week’s challenge is for everyone to reflect and share about their tatting inspirations.

Who or what inspires you to tat? Another tatter? A relative? A pattern?

What has sparked the creativity for you in tatting?

Has someone or something inspired you to tackle a tatting project that you might not have otherwise attempted?

I want to hear your stories. Please leave them in the comment section or email them to us. I look forward to sharing your stories (pictures to go with the story are encouraged, but not required) and will collect them to include with next week’s post (I have something in mind – so it won’t be months between challenges – sorry about that!)

In progress shot of a pegasus from Martha Ess’ book, Flights of Fantasy (with slightly modified ear and tail) and my cat, Klaus.

My challenge response:

I have been inspired by my friend (and tatting mentor), Donna. She taught me to tat and opened my eyes to the wonderful beauty of miniature knots. Some of the first patterns I tackled came from Patti Duff’s Minitats: A Collection of 69 Petite Motifs book and she taught me something new about the magic thread trick at the free tatting class earlier today. Anne B’s dragon pattern is what hooked me on tatting. Armed with just the very basics, I searched the internet for tatting patterns and her dragon was one of the first that I found. It sent me bugging my mentor about different techniques and spurred on my progress. I’m sure Donna heard the phrase, “Do I know enough to tat the dragon, yet?” more times than she needed to. My co-blogger, Davina, is also a talented bead maker and her beads have inspired a few of my creations. The Shuttlebirds Tatting Guild has been a great source of inspiration for me as I have been amazed by the tatting these wonderful ladies can do. Every pattern author we have featured has inspired me and it has been a joy to tat their work. In addition to tatters, I have also been inspired by flowers, sea creatures, and DNA strands. You never really know where inspiration might strike next!

In fact, I’m looking forward to being inspired by your responses and I hope you will be inspired by each other and the Spotlight Features over this next week!

Happy tatting!

Shuttlebirds’ Reader Spotlight: This is where your tatting will be featured each week you contribute.

This is just a quick challenge, I didn’t want another week to go by without one but since it took me till 15 minutes ago to realize why I couldn’t get my pics transferred I don’t have time for something long.
I started this before workshop, to mark my scissors but it just didn’t get done in time. But from now on, no one will be touching my good scissors, or they lose a finger (Evil Laugh escaping)
The pattern is by Kathy Lowe and includes instructions for 5 & 7 character names. Since Davina is only 6 letters, I added a heart to the end. The beads can be purchased in the kids craft department at just about any store. Make sure you use the smaller beads or they won’t fit.
I used an old cell phone clip that I modified to attach the piece to my scissors. I also edited some of the rings and added a tassel because I love tassels.
The pattern can be found here NamePlate
And as always, we wanna see what you make! Even if it is from one of our first challenges, we want to see it so we can show everyone else.

We are in the home stretch for Workshop prep so this Challenge has a working kind of theme, this week, we are working on a name tag lanyard. This pattern is special to me cause it is the first thing I ever shuttle tatted. It was my first Guild meeting and Lois showed me how to do the elusive “flip” maneuver and sent me on my way. it is a perfect purse project because all the thread and beads are on the shuttle and if your shuttle has a hook, it is an all in one piece. You will need a large shuttle to hold all the beads and thread, I prefer the Tatsy. I have modified mine to include a hook before I decorated it. As it gets longer, I use a diaper pin to keep the length under control.

Each Lanyard takes about 300 size 6 beads and 25-30 yards of size 20 tatting cotton. I made mine with a mixture of pink beads and Lizbeth 20, 621 Dusty Rose.

This pattern is written by ShuttleBirds’ President, Patti Duff. She doesn’t have a web site but you can reach her thru the Shuttlebird Tatting Guild. We thank her for letting us use her pattern here. You can download the PDF file Beaded Lanyard.

The two chatelaines to the left are variations of this pattern and are part of the scholarship raffle at workshop. They are made from Lizbeth 20; 139, Fruit Fizz and 184, Rainbow Splash.

You can be part of our raffle by contacting Natalie or myself for ticket information.

We hope you enjoy making yourself a lanyard and for all of you guild members who made theirs last year, send in a picture so we can add you to the gallery.

May your shuttles be filed and your knots be merry,

Davina-Marie

Extra Bonus: English Lesson

chat·e·laine

/ˈʃætlˌeɪn; French ʃɑtəˈlɛn/Show Spelled[shat-l-eyn; French shahtuh–len]

Did you now that April 1, 2014 is international Tatting Day? While my kiddos will be celebrating one of their favorite days (April Fools) I am going to celebrate Tatting day by handing out little tatting treats to people I meet that day. Everytime I run low on bobbins, I pull out the paper clips and make little bookmarks. I have handed them out to people I know but my favorite things is to just use them to clip together paperwork I turn in, camp forms, field trip requests, etc, knowing that someone processing a huge stack of mundane paperwork is going to find a little treat along the way.
There are hundreds if patterns out there, just do a search on tatted paperclips or any small motif will do.
I use the large plastic coated paperclips from the Dollar store.
The same designs can be made as cell charms using leashes.
So this is the challenge: Make and give away 10 small tatted items on April 1. If you send in a picture of your 10 items and your address, we will send you 10 yards of the new Lizbeth Twirlz. (Will ship out AFTER workshop)
I look forward to your giveaway stories.
Davina-Marie

Welcome back to the Wednesday Weekly Challenge. Each Wednesday we will be posting a link to a free pattern and challenging you, the reader, to try it. In addition to the pattern link, we will post a picture of how our tatting turned out when we followed the pattern. Following the challenge, we will feature reader completions of past challenges.
Challenge Issued: Follow the linked pattern in any color combinations and thread sizes you choose. [Variations of the pattern are welcome and encouraged.] Then snap a picture and send it to sbspokane@yahoo.com with the subject line “Weekly Challenge” to see your completed work featured as part of next week’s challenge post. Be sure to include the name you wish us to list with your photo – we want to give you credit! [There is no time limit on sending in your picture – feel free to send in any weekly challenge pictures (from last week or weeks/months ago) and we will feature them as part of the next Wednesday’s post.]

I joined a shuttle exchange with one of the Facebook groups I am in and part of the agreement is that we send out a bookmark with each shuttle. I wanted each package to have the same bookmark but each one had to coordinate with the shuttles I decorated. After looking all over, I found myself back in the familiar territory that is Jane Eborall’s blog. Since I have not dome much with SCMR and wanted a challenge I decided on this flowery creation.
I will be upfront with yo’all, the first one was a challenge, mostly my own doing. When I am working a new pattern, I find myself trying to anticipate the next stitches anyhow everything is going to work out. This is probably because I rarely follow a pattern 100%’ I always want my own spin on what I am making. I suggest with this pattern, just trust in Jane and her tatty wisdom and it will all work out. Don’t let your brain make it hard than it has to be.
Notice in my picture, none of my bookmarks have tails. I will be adding my special touch instead once they are all done.
Enjoy and read on.
Pattern: Flowery Bookmark with Self-Closing Mock Rings

Shuttlebirds’ Reader Spotlight: This is where your tatting will be featured each week you contribute.
I love seeing what everyone tats! I hope to see your beautiful work next week!
Reader Submitted Bookmarks
{gallery to be added at a later date}
If you have a free pattern you would like to see featured as part of the Weekly Challenge – let us know by leaving a comment or by sending an email to sbspokane@yahoo.com
We look forward to seeing your creations!
– Davina-Marie
Check Out All Past Challenges Here